Girl Meets Yoga
by GrizBehr
Summary: Riley and Maya take a yoga class when they are confronted by something unexpected. (Street Harassment)


"Come on, Maya," Riley said packing her gym clothes into the bag. "It'll be fun."

"Fun?" Maya said exasperated. "How can the gym be fun?"

Riley rolled her eyes at her friend. "It's yoga. It's not like we're going to run around the city. It will be relaxing."

"Well, I could use a nap."

Riley smiled and zipped up her bag. She had been thinking about taking a yoga class for a few months. She thought that working on her flexibility might help her in controlling her arms and legs. She flung the bag over her shoulder which caused her to overbalance and fall on the bed. She laughed as she pulled herself back up. "Let's go," she told Maya and went out the window. Maya reluctantly followed.

Riley enjoyed the subway ride. She told Maya about all the things she had learned online about yoga. "There's all sorts of poses," she imparted. "There's the Camel Pose, the Sun Salutation, the Tree Pose…"

"Enough, Riley," Maya said. "I said I'd do it."

Riley smiled at her friend. The rest of the ride they chattered like magpies about everything else…their friends, school, TV shows. They got off the train and went upstairs to the street. A short walk from the stop, they climbed up to the yoga studio.

"Beginner's class, please," Riley smiled to the bored college student sitting at the reception desk.

"Ten bucks each," she said. "Plus five dollar mat rental." Riley pulled the money for both her and Maya out of her purse and handed it over. She had really wanted to take this class with Maya, but didn't want to burden her with the cost, so she had asked her mom for some extra money. The receptionist handed over two mats and directed them to the changing rooms.

Riley changed into her workout gear…purple tights with a pair of flowered shorts. She spun around in the mirror looking at herself. "You look like you belong in an Olivia Newton John video," Maya told her. Maya was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.

"Who," Riley asked, still eying herself in the mirror. Maya rolled her eyes, grabbed her friend, and pushed her out of the locker room. They entered the Beginner's class room and Riley put her mat down right at the front. Maya copied her and proceeded to lie down on it.

Riley looked around the room. With the exception of two college age boys near the back, the class was all women. One of the boys saw her looking in their direction and winked at her. Riley blushed and turned away. The instructor came in and Riley nudged Maya with her foot to get her to stand up.

"Namaste," he said to the class. "Welcome to beginner's yoga. Has anyone taken a yoga class before." Riley looked around and saw a couple of women with their hands up. She also saw the two boys still looking at her.

"Good," the instructor said. "We're going to start things off nice and gentle. We'll begin with some seated meditation." The instructor sat on the floor in a cross legged position. Riley followed suit carefully, while Maya just sort of fell into position.

"I'd do some meditation on that," a male voice said softly from the back of the room followed by quiet laughing.

"Okay, now we do Down Dog," the instructor continued, demonstrating the pose. His arms spread on the ground in front if him, legs slightly apart, and his butt up in air. Riley tried to copy him.

"I'd like to plant something in that flower bed," the voice came again.

The instructor straightened up and clapped his hands together. "Class, please," he said focusing his attention on the back of the class. "I'm going to go around and help adjust the pose of those who need it."

He started in the front row and when he got to Riley said softly, "I'm going to lay my hands on you to adjust you. Let me know if you feel uncomfortable."

Riley nodded, and he adjusted her arm positions slightly. Then he went to the back and moved her feet closer together. Then he moved her hips slightly higher.

"Where can I get that job," the voice came again. Riley's ears turned red as she realized that they were talking about her.

"I'm sorry," the instructor told her. "They are the boss's sons and I can't kick them out. Maybe you'd like to go to a different class?"

"No, thank you," Riley said still not sure what was going on. "I'll be fine." The instructor patted her shoulder lightly and then moved on. When he finished, after speaking briefly to the two young men in the back, he returned to the front.

"Now, the plank position," and once again he demonstrated. Riley mimicked him, expecting a comment from the back, but none came. " _Good_ ," she thought. " _Maybe they didn't realize they were being inappropriate._ "

The door opened and the girl from reception came in and whispered in the instructor's ear. "Class," he said. "I have a phone call I have to take. I'll be back in just a minute. Everyone please return to Seated Meditation and meditate quietly until I return." He gave a stern look towards the back of the class and left the room.

Riley returned to the cross legged position and tried to clear her mind. Almost as soon as she was settled, the voice from the back of the room returned.

"Man, I'd hit some of that."

"Yeah, her friend's not bad either," a different voice said. "You think they're a couple?"

Maya stood up quickly as tears started forming at Riley's eyes. "Dudes," she yelled at them. "We're only fifteen!"

"Yeah, well fifteen will get you twenty and it's well worth the risk," the lead man said standing up.

"Yeah," his friend chuckled. "You know the saying, if it bleeds, it breeds."

"Besides," the first said. "Purple's my favorite color."

It was too much for Riley. She ran from the room, tears streaming from her face. Maya looked at the two men in shock. She gazed around the room and saw disgust, sorrow, and regret on all the women there, but most of all she saw fear. Picking up her and Riley's mats she stormed out of the room.

Maya entered the locker room to find Riley already in her dress. She had just thrown it on over her workout gear. "Riley," she started.

"I just want to get out of here, Maya," Riley said wiping her eyes. She waited as Maya got changed and then the two headed out. They dropped the mats off at the front desk to the bored receptionist and went outside.

The two girls stood holding the pole on the subway. Riley kept glancing around at the people. There was a man, maybe in his thirties, looking at her over his newspaper. Riley pulled in on herself, hiding as much of herself as she could.

"Riley, what's wrong," Maya said.

"That man is looking at me," Riley replied quietly. Maya looked over to see the man reading his newspaper.

"No he's not," Maya said. "He's just reading his paper."

Riley looked over and could swear he just looked down when she glanced his way. "Can we get off at the next stop?" she pleaded. Maya agreed, and the two girls left the train at the next stop. Just their luck, the man with the newspaper also got off, which caused Riley to tense up, but he folded his paper and went the other way paying no attention to the two girls.

Up on the street, the girls walked arm in arm. Riley couldn't help but look around. Every guy seemed to be staring at her. She hurried her pace, and Maya almost had to jog to keep up.

"Watch that load," a voice said from a construction site nearby. Riley whipped her head around to see a man struggling with a bag of concrete.

"You need a ride," another voice said from the street. Riley stared at a cabbie talking to an elderly woman whose arms were full of bags.

As they neared her place, Riley dropped Maya's arm and ran up the fire escape to her window. When Maya entered Riley's room, Riley was under her covers, and Maya could hear muffled sobbing.

"Riles," she said gently, putting her hand on Riley through the covers.

"How can anybody say stuff like that," Riley cried sitting up.

"I…I don't know."

"I need to take a shower." Riley grabbed her robe and hurried out of the room.

Riley stood under the hot water streaming from the shower head, scrubbing her skin with the loofah. She felt there wasn't enough soap in the world to get off this layer of slime she felt on her skin. When she got out of the shower, she wiped the steam from the mirror and looked at her face. She tried to put back on the smile she used to disguise her pain, but it just wouldn't come. She brushed out her hair and then put her hand in front of her face in the mirror before heading back to her room.

"Riles," Maya started as she entered.

"You should take a shower, too," Riley interrupted her before heading into her closet to change. When Maya returned, she found the floor covered in Riley's purple clothing.

"Riley," she exclaimed.

"I'm getting rid of all of it," Riley yelled. "I hate purple!" Riley threw herself back on her bed.

" _This is going to take more than me_ ," Maya said to herself. She went to the living room to find Mr. and Mrs. Matthews sitting at the dining table.

"How was yoga," Mr. Matthews asked.

"Um," Maya started. "Topanga, can I talk to you?"

Topanga looked concerned and followed Maya to Riley's bedroom. There she found Riley on her bed, her pillow clutched to her face, and whimpers escaping from it.

"What happened," Topanga exclaimed. Riley sat up and reached her arms out towards her mother.

"Mommy," she cried. Topanga ran over and took her daughter in her arms as Maya closed the bedroom door. Riley sobbed out everything that happened and everything she felt on the trip back home. Topanga gently stroked her hair while holding her tight with her other hand.

"Oh, baby," she said. "I am so sorry that happened to you. Didn't the instructor say anything?"

"He…he…tried," Riley said between tears. "He said they were the owner's sons and he talked to them and they stopped but then he had to go out of the room and they just got worse."

"Even when I told them we were just fifteen, it seemed to egg them on further," Maya said.

Topanga reached out her hand to hold Maya's. "Worst of all," Maya continued. "None of the women in the class did anything. They just sat there like they were afraid."

"They probably were," Topanga explained. "I wish I could tell you that this was just a phase, but this happens to women every day. It happens to me on a regular basis."

"What do we do about it," Riley asked.

"I don't have an easy answer for you," Topanga said. "It all depends on the man, and you usually don't find out that until too late. There are some men who think they are giving women compliments when they say that kind of stuff. If confronted about it, they will often times stop. Sometimes they'll stop with that woman and start up with another.

"Others think that's how men are supposed to behave. They may have seen it so often on TV and in the movies that they think it's how they are supposed to act.

"Worst of all are those who think they have the right to it…that women are somehow an inferior sex and that men have the right to do what they want. These are the most problematic. If you ignore them, they rev it up trying to get a reaction. If you confront them, it could get dangerous.

"A lot of it depends on how they're reared."

"What about Auggie," Riley asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Maya said. "I've heard Mr. Matthews playfully say things to you that everyone knows is just a joke, but what if Auggie grows up thinking that's how men and women talk to each other."

Topanga thought for a minute. "You're right," she said finally. "I guess Cory and I will have to have a talk with him. I have heard him talking about his teacher the way Cory jokingly talks about me. Maybe I need to have a talk with Cory too."

Farkle's head popped in the window and saw all the clothes on the ground. "What's up," he said with a smile.

"Not now, Farkle," Maya told him.

"Why," he asked confused. He was always welcome at the bay window. "What's going on?"

Riley hurled her pillow at him. "Men are pigs," she yelled. The pillow hit Farkle in the face, leaving him with a stunned expression.

Maya went over to the window. "I'll explain later," she told him, closing the window and locking it. She picked up the pillow and tossed it back on the bed. "What are you going to do with all of these," she asked, gesturing towards the clothing.

"He said purple was his favorite color," Riley said. "I don't want to ever see purple again."

"No," Topanga told her firmly. She held Riley at arms length and looked her directly in the eyes. "Don't let anyone make you uncomfortable with who you are. You love purple. I have a closet full of purple cats that prove it. You are much stronger than even you know, and don't let anyone take that away from you." She pulled Riley into her arms and hugged her tight. Maya picked up the pile of purple clothes and threw it into the closet. Riley gave her a tight smile as she embraced her mother.

After a minute or so, Riley pulled back and smiled at her mother. Topanga reached over and put her fingers under Riley's chin.

"You said they were the sons of the owner," she said. Riley nodded and a slow grin came across Topanga's face. "I might have an idea."

The next weekend, Riley, Maya and Topanga went to the yoga center. Topanga paid for herself and the girls and they went into the class. Riley saw the two guys there and drew back a little behind her mother.

"Ooooh," the leader of the two said. "They brought another one. She's a bit old, but I'd do her."

"You'd do what," a strong female voice came from the unseen corner. A woman a little older than Topanga came over and confronted the two boys.

"M…m…mom," they stuttered.

"I raised you better than this," she yelled at them, grabbing each by an ear. She dragged them over to the girls. "You will apologize right this minute and if I ever hear you were even in the vicinity of somebody being so disrespectful, I'll tan the hide out of you!"

After a muffled apology, their mother hauled the two boys out of the room. The other women all started cheering and clapping. Some came up to the girls and apologized for not standing up for them before.

"We have to stand together," Topanga said. "This won't solve the big problem, but it might solve that particular one."

Topanga put her arms around both girls who gave her a big hug.


End file.
